FOI 8151

Public Health Funerals

Request

How many departments within the council are involved when there is a public health funeral/national assistance burial/welfare funeral?

What is the name of the staff member and departments involved?

For each staff member involved in ensuring that the funeral takes place, what is his/her job title and/or duties they are responsible for?

At what stage are efforts made to trace the next of kin? What is the name of the staff member/external contact who is responsible for this?

Are there any external companies, firms, organisations, or people that are involved in the public health funeral process? (Excluding family and friends of the deceased)

What is their name and email, and/or telephone number (if available).

Could you also kindly send me any information you may hold relating to public or welfare funerals and persons who have died with no known next of kin since 1/11/13 to the day of your reply. Please include:

1. full names of deceased persons,2. dates of death,3. marital status,4. maiden surnames of married or widowed females,5. dates of birth or ages at death,6. last known addresses,7. estimated value of estates,8. date(s) when the information was passed (or information that is about to be or likely to be passed) to the QLTR Offices, Treasury Solicitor, NUHU, Farrer & Co, The Crown Solicitor or the Coroner.9. If information has been sent to the coroner, please include the name of the coroner and their jurisdiction.

Response

Q. How many departments within the council are involved when there is a public health funeral/national assistance burial/welfare funeral?A. The formal process would involve two department, Environmental Health who would undertake the initial investigation and processing of the estate and then the Cemeteries department who would make the necessary arrangements for the burial.

Q. What is the name of the staff member and departments involved?A. Individual staff members would vary as to who is on duty at the time of receiving a Parish Burial and the Departments have been named above.

Q. For each staff member involved in ensuring that the funeral takes place, what is his/her job title and/or duties they are responsible for?A. Again as stated above this would be dependant as to which Officer is on duty at the time. Normally the process would involve an Environmental Health Officer [EHO] who would be responsible for investigating and processing the estate, Cemeteries Supervisor and Cemeteries Administrator who would both be responsible for arranging the burial and organizing the necessary paperwork in doing so.

Q. At what stage are efforts made to trace the next of kin?A. This function would be undertaken by the EHO assigned the case and would take place early in the investigative process once access to an individuals property had been gained or their personal property retrieved.

Q. What is the name of the staff member/external contact who is responsible for this?A. Please see above.

Q. Are there any external companies, firms, organizations, or people that are involved in the public health funeral process? (Excluding family and friends of the deceased).

A. The only other firms involved would be those required to closed the individuals estate such as banks, utility firms, pension firms etc and the undertakers providing the burial.

Q. What is their name and email, and/or telephone number (if available).A. There is no specific information held on this.

Q. Could you also kindly send me any information you may hold relating to public or welfare funerals and persons who have died with no known next of kin since 1/11/13 to the day of your reply. Please include:

1. full names of deceased persons,2. dates of death,3. marital status,4. maiden surnames of married or widowed females,5. dates of birth or ages at death,6. last known addresses,7. estimated value of estates,8. date(s) when the information was passed (or information that is about to be or likely to be passed) to the QLTR Offices, Treasury Solicitor, NUHU, Farrer & Co, The Crown Solicitor or the Coroner.9. If information has been sent to the coroner, please include the name of the coroner and their jurisdiction.

A. With regard to the information you have requested above, this is now available on the Brentwood Borough Council website under Data Share, which is up to date, and is up dated at the end of every month. You can access this information by going to www.brentwood.gov.uk and clicking on the ‘Open Data’ section; click ‘View more’. Here you can choose to either view or download the data. The information you are wishing to access is found under ‘General Information’ and then ‘Parish Burials/ Public Health Funerals’.